Fowler: Trinidad will give us a really good fight

National senior netball captain Jhaniele Fowler says they will not be taking Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago lightly when both teams clash in a three-match series this month.

South Africa were originally scheduled to participate in the series, but they have since advised Netball Jamaica of their unavailability because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Fowler said Trinidad and Tobago have a lot of quality players in their squad and some of these ladies have had a lot of experience from playing in the various top leagues around the world and therefore they will not be taking them for granted.

“I reckon that they are going to have a lot of experience in their team and I know that they are going to give us a really good fight,” said Fowler.

“We won’t be taking them lightly and we will not be going out there and leaving ourselves short because they always want to come out and play their best against us and so I am pretty sure that we have to play our ‘A’ game against them,” she said.

Trinidad and Tobago are ranked 10th in the world and finished ninth at the last Netball World Cup, which was held in Liverpool, England, in 2019.

Veterans Samantha Wallace and Kalifa McCollin who play for teams in the Suncorp Super Netball league in Australia are expected to lead the Trinidad’s charge against the Sunshine Girls.

Wallace, a goal shooter, plays for New South Wales while goal attack McCollin represented the Collingwood Magpies in the tournament last season.

Fowler, who is rated as the best shooter in the world, pointed out that the Sunshine Girls’ preparations going into the series have been very rigid because they are determined to put on an excellent showing on home soil.

“Nothing has changed because we are still preparing intensely, we are still making sure that we are still putting out our one hundred per cent out there in training,” Fowler said. “The preparations have been intense and girls have been giving it their all in training and I know that we are going to put up a good showing against Trinidad,” she said.

SUNSHINE GIRLS

Fowler underscored that they are still disappointed that the world’s number five ranked South Africa will not be taking part in the series because it would have been stern test for the fourth ranked Sunshine Girls.

“We are a little disappointed but we know how the world is going at the moment and so we are expecting anything to happen, but I wish they could have still made it here,” she said.

“However, the players are looking forward to playing Trinidad and Tobago because it is an international series and it is a chance for us to look at where we are at and to see how we adjust when we come up against a different style of play,” Fowler said.